More than half of all violent and repeat offenders don't go to jail, report finds

More than half of all hardened and violent criminals are escaping a prison
term, according to a new Civitas report, which severely criticised the
Government's claims to be tough on crime.

Fewer burglars are also being jailed than ever beforePhoto: GETTY

By Christopher Hope, Whitehall Editor

8:00AM GMT 31 Jan 2009

The Institute for the Study of Civil Society (Civitas) suggested any future rise in crime would be not be due to the recession, but "the Government's failure to imprison serious, violent and persistent offenders".

The think tank's study showed that 60 per cent of offenders, who have been convicted on more than 15 previous occasions, are not sent to prison after being convicted of a serious, indictable offence in a Crown Court.

The report also found that more than 70 per cent of criminals convicted for 'violence against the person' offences in 2007 did not receive a custodial term.

Using official Government figures, Civitas demonstrated how the number of robbers sent to prison has fallen from 72 per cent in 2002 to 54 per cent in 2007.

The news comes after a leaked Home Office memo forecast a rise in all kinds of acquisitive crime, as well as the risk of attacks on foreigners, caused by the recession.

David Green, director of Civitas, said: "The Government has predicted that crime will rise as a result of the recession, but on past performance increased unemployment will make only a small difference.

"Not many of the former employees of Woolworths, for example, are likely to become house burglars or car thieves.

"It is far more likely that the Government's failure to imprison serious, violent and persistent offenders will be the direct cause of any increase."

The report also found a big fall in the number of serious criminals who were jailed, down from 85,151 in 2002 to 74,037 in 2007. The number means just 24 per cent of all serious offenders were jailed.

If the same sentencing standards in 2002 had been applied five years later, an additional 10,000 criminals would have been in jail rather than being "free to endanger members of the public", the report said.

The study also showed that fewer than 15 in every 100 criminals who are cautioned or convicted for a serious or indictable crime are given immediate custody.

In 2002 143,000 cautions were issued. In 2007 the figure was 205,000. The report said: "The typical attitude of criminals is that they 'got off with a caution'."

Fewer burglars are also being jailed than ever before, with only 39 per cent of burglars being given an immediate prison term, compared with 45 per cent in 1997.

The detection rate also fell from 47 per cent in 1951 to 23 per cent in 2003. Since then it has crept up to 28 per cent.

Shadow Justice Secretary, Dominic Grieve said there was now "a crisis in our justice system".

He said: "With more and more serious criminals escaping prison is there any wonder that the public is losing confidence in criminal justice in this country?"

Liberal Democrat Shadow Justice Secretary, David Howarth added: "Some serious and repeat offenders are not being brought to justice, while drug addicts and the mentally ill are languishing in our jails.

"If they were moved to more appropriate secure accommodation, sentences could be dished out to fit the crime, not to fit prison capacity."

The Government defended its record.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "Since 1997, crime has fallen by more than a third and those who commit crime now have a greater chance of being convicted.

"There will always be exceptional cases in which it would not be in the victim's or public interest to prosecute, and a caution may be given in preference to no further action being taken.

"A caution may be appropriate if an offence is relatively minor and the offender is a young person or it is their first offence.

"The decision whether to caution or prosecute an offender for an indictable-only offence – the most serious crimes which would be dealt with at the Crown Court – will always be taken by the Crown Prosecution Service."